The Miami Heat lost in embarrassing fashion against the New York Knicks. The 124-121 defeat against one of the favorites to win the first overall pick in the draft was something everyone knew Jimmy Butler would not stand for. Everyone almost knew that the temperamental guard would be bound to blow up his top after the game.
And that's exactly what Butler did. During the post-match interviews, he sounded off on the efforts of his teammates and expected them to play better.
Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:
“We had a good defensive game maybe twice to three, maybe four times, really, really good defensively,” Butler said afterward. “Every other time we just outscored opponents. If we’re not making shots, it’s not looking good.”
Jimmy Butler reminded his teammates that they cannot slack off in defensive effort when it comes to NBA players. He emphasized that all of the best ballers in the world are playing in the NBA, and anyone can make a shot if left wide open enough.
“If somebody is beat, this is the best league in the world, you’ve got to be there,” Butler said. “But a lot of the times, you have to man up and stay in front of the ball. A lot more effort, a lot more want to has to go into it. You’ve got to take it personal when somebody scores on you. We’ve got to play hard. When the ball is in the air or on the floor, we have to be the ones to get it.
Butler is the team's leader on both ends of the floor. He's averaging 20.1 points a night, leading the entire Miami team. He has an impressive stat line to add to his scoring with 6.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2.0 steals a night.
Butler's virtually doing everything for the Heat, and he knows that this is not sustainable basketball. He needs his teammates to step their game up if they're making a deep run in the playoffs this year.
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